The past few days have been a blur. I think this is typical of even semesters at IITB. Always some engagement or the other, keeps you busy and on your toes, keeps you wishing for a break. But its all enjoyable nevertheless. Sure, it also attracts comments from family like, "Are you sure u are working on Ph.D. there?" B-)
Being more social and more active, makes one feel more alive and confident. That is something I want to capitalize on. So, though I am living on the edge these days, I am trying to make the most of it.. without cribbing.. :-D All I want to say is, "Bring it on!" :-)
Monday, March 22, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Queen of procrastination
Many people have many theories concerning procrastination. Some claim, "I always procrastinate", as if it's in-vogue. Some people talk of using procrastination to at least get some second-rank jobs done and out of the way, because the first-rank jobs will be done anyway when they start piling on top of your head.
This is a great read, talking of "good" and "bad" procrastination. It also draws from You and Your Research by Richard Hamming. My mind does resonate with these thoughts, though sometimes these directives seem to border on the extreme.
However, I seem to be exercising another form of procrastination, completely orthogonal to anything I have read about. I call it the "germination" or "gestation" period. Get an idea, think over it, beat it around a bit and then leave it to germinate. Re-visit later. You can see that every time you re-visit it, you think of something new. On the contrary, if you had finalized it the very first time you thought of it, maybe you wouldn't have hit upon the second or third novel idea that you had later on.
Disclaimer is warranted that this technique probably will not work for geniuses. They probably can and will think everything through on the first try itself. :D
@All the rest: All the best!
This is a great read, talking of "good" and "bad" procrastination. It also draws from You and Your Research by Richard Hamming. My mind does resonate with these thoughts, though sometimes these directives seem to border on the extreme.
However, I seem to be exercising another form of procrastination, completely orthogonal to anything I have read about. I call it the "germination" or "gestation" period. Get an idea, think over it, beat it around a bit and then leave it to germinate. Re-visit later. You can see that every time you re-visit it, you think of something new. On the contrary, if you had finalized it the very first time you thought of it, maybe you wouldn't have hit upon the second or third novel idea that you had later on.
Disclaimer is warranted that this technique probably will not work for geniuses. They probably can and will think everything through on the first try itself. :D
@All the rest: All the best!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Bollywood and medical disorders
KCK pulls in two medical terms to justify what is happening with the protagonist - Schizophrenia and Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). A little googling reveals that they are not one and the same thing, though many people do confuse the two. Schizophrenia - one is born with it, MPD - born due to abuse. The thought that KCK is confusing them further, is disturbing.
Are the makers of KCK claiming that Karthik was born with Schizophrenia (because of which he saw a "brother") and the abuse by that imaginary brother has caused MPD?! Talk of fiction! Well, the movie never did claim to be a true story after all..
Talking of true stories, while in a BEST bus recently, saw an ad for movie "THANKS MAA". It is apparently about an orphaned/abandoned child. The last line in the ad was "Based on 12.44 million true stories". And ya, that did catch my attention, in a very unsettling way.
Stories based on disorders seems to have caught on in a big way in Bollywood. "Black" was a small beginning, but it really became the trend since "Taare Zameen Par". How about "Ghajini", "Paa" and "MNIK"? And now, "KCK". If these movies intended to bring out the subtleties of the disorders or to generate awareness (as was in TZP), great move. But using them commercially just to create unusual fiction (and maybe more confusion) seems plain wrong.
PS: A fact about MPD -
The fact that you may sometimes be quiet, sometimes gregarious, sometimes "up" or sometimes "down", sometimes patient and other times irritable does not mean that you have multiple personalities.
- Marvin S. Beitner, Ph.D.
Are the makers of KCK claiming that Karthik was born with Schizophrenia (because of which he saw a "brother") and the abuse by that imaginary brother has caused MPD?! Talk of fiction! Well, the movie never did claim to be a true story after all..
Talking of true stories, while in a BEST bus recently, saw an ad for movie "THANKS MAA". It is apparently about an orphaned/abandoned child. The last line in the ad was "Based on 12.44 million true stories". And ya, that did catch my attention, in a very unsettling way.
Stories based on disorders seems to have caught on in a big way in Bollywood. "Black" was a small beginning, but it really became the trend since "Taare Zameen Par". How about "Ghajini", "Paa" and "MNIK"? And now, "KCK". If these movies intended to bring out the subtleties of the disorders or to generate awareness (as was in TZP), great move. But using them commercially just to create unusual fiction (and maybe more confusion) seems plain wrong.
PS: A fact about MPD -
The fact that you may sometimes be quiet, sometimes gregarious, sometimes "up" or sometimes "down", sometimes patient and other times irritable does not mean that you have multiple personalities.
- Marvin S. Beitner, Ph.D.
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